Celtics Hold Off Sixers to Advance to ECF

And this time, there was no confetti. "I feel like I had a lot more to go", he said. We've got a bright future. Sometimes they would miss some of their shots and that was the key.

"We have nothing to lose", McConnell told TNT after the game.

Joel Embiid and Dario Saric, of Croatia, each scored 27 points, while Australia's Ben Simmons finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia, who are 0-15 when losing the first two games of a series. He was also successful in blocking Celtics guard Terry Rozier for 11 points on 4 - 11 shooting.

"When we play free, we play as a team and as a unit", Ben Simmons said.

A rematch with Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James awaits them, but for a Celtics team that has had to trudge uphill throughout the season, still playing at this point of the postseason feels like reason to celebrate. "To focus on that as much as anything".

As they did while surviving Game 4, the Sixers tried to adapt, running more sets, forcing the ball inside. They did a great job establishing that early, posting a number of guys up, and that led to points in the paint, fouls etc.

But now, the Celtics get to take on LeBron.

The Celtics continued to extend their lead in the third quarter getting up by as many as 12 points.

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, my notebook doesn't determine who moves on in the NBA Playoffs.

The Celtics, for the most part, experienced a rocky third quarter, but Brown was able to catch fire.

Marcus Smart missed his first free-throw attempt and appeared to try to miss the second, too-to force the Sixers to bring the ball up the court with the clock running-but the ball went in.

For the first time in the series, coach Brad Stevens placed Jaylen Brown into the starting rotation, and it paid off big time.

"He's made for this", Stevens said. "That run was inevitable".

It was "just a championship play", Rozier said. Tristan Thompson has killed Boston on the boards in the past, and if he and Love can win the battle in the trenches against Aron Baynes and Horford, you'd best believe James will make Boston pay.

"We lean on our best, we lean on Al during those tough stretches, and he came up big for us", Brown said.

From there, the Sixers didn't wilt.

The goal for the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night is simple. Can the Sixers again stave off elimination? We got one. Now we go back to Boston 3-1. "Every game is a special one, and we treat it like that the whole game".

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